Antimycobacterial antibodies in pleural effusions.
We devised a dot blot assay to evaluate the IgG and IgA response to P32, a recently isolated antigen specific to mycobacteria. Pleural fluids and the corresponding sera were tested, obtained from five patients with pleural tuberculosis proven by direct examination and/or culture and from 14 patients with pleural effusions of other origins. We measured the total IgG and IgA levels in all samples and determined the anti-P32 titer after adjusting IgG and IgA respectively to the same levels in all samples. Those pleural fluids and sera from tuberculous patients contained a higher proportion of anti-P32 antibodies than samples obtained from nontuberculous control subjects; in those patients, the proportion of anti-P32 antibodies was generally higher in pleural effusion fluid than in serum.
Van Vooren
J P
JP
Department of Immunology, Hopital Erasme, Brussels, Belgium.
Farber
C M
CM
De Bruyn
J
J
Yernault
J C
JC
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000032:analysis; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000032:analysis; D009161:Mycobacterium / Q000276:immunology*; D010996:Pleural Effusion / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D014396:Tuberculosis, Pleural / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D007070:Immunoglobulin A; D007074:Immunoglobulin G